A court in southern Russia on Monday found Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko guilty of murder over the killing of two Russian journalists in war-torn east Ukraine, at a trial condemned by Kiev and the West as a political sham.

Savchenko “committed the premeditated murder as part of a group of people from the motives of hatred and enmity,” a judge in the town of Donetsk was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

The verdict said that Savchenko — who denies all the charges — was motivated by hatred towards “Russian-speaking people in general”, agencies reported.

Savchenko was also found guilty on a charge of illegally crossing the border into Russia, reports said.